LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX18) — Family and friends told LEX 18 that Mike Yocum, the man they said was killed in a parking garage in downtown Lexington Saturday morning, died trying to defend his friend.
"He was a protector," his aunt, Bessie Yocum, said. "And that's what he was doing in his last moments of getting taken from this world."
Police have not confirmed those details and the Fayette County Coroner's Office has not officially released the victim's name.
According to the arrest citation for Juan Linares, 23, who was charged with murdering Yocum, Linares "intentionally shot the victim" while he laid "defenseless on the ground."
"I never would have thought in a million years this was going to happen to Platt," Bessie Yocum said, referring to her nephew's nickname.
In a Zoom call with LEX 18, Yocum's aunt and sister described him as an amazing father and a working man who took care of his six kids.
"He loved his kids," Bessie Yocum said. "He spoke with a tickle in his stomach when he would talk about his kids."
